Kyran and Mercedes Findlater travel the world

Hello and welcome to the another adventure with the Findlaters!

This week we were off on a mission that I completely do not condone but I figured when life gives you lemons...

The adventure was that Kyran - for those of you who do not know, he is into Airsoft. It is a sport like paintball but with small plastic pellets and more realistic looking guns.
Without giving my opinion on the subject the short story is that he decided that 2 guns were not enough and that he needs three... don't get me started... so the third gun that that he 'needed' was up in Leicester.

The map below shows the trip that we made from home to Leicester to get the damn gun (the red path) and then we went home via Warwickshire where there is a castle called Warwick Castle (orange path) then home (Blue path).

Well lets just dive into it if I haven't lost your interest by now. All in all it was a good day.
Kyran and I enjoyed the drive together - I talked his ears off and later the ears of my parents overseas that called me.

It was nice to see the British countryside starting to get greener after the hot summer and dry weather conditions that we have been having. Luckily we have had one or two days of rain recently so the grass is starting to spruce up and look less like straw.

The trip:

We tried to head out early so that we could pick up the gun and then get on with our adventures, but once we were on the road Kyran realised that he forgot his wallet so we had to turn around and go back, but ended up taking a sub-optimal route to get home so despite only being 5 minutes out from home, it took 20 minutes to get back! That's the British road system for you...

Then we missed our exit by the skin of a chicken's tooth, so it was shaping up to be "one of those days". Combine that with there was something off with my bladder and I needed to pee at every stop the whole way up.

The car check engine light came on so we decided to pull over and see if it was something obvious that we could fix. We came to the conclusion that the Oil was low so we should probably fix that and see what happens. £18 of oil into the motor later and we were on our way again - Until the next service station when my bladder posted it's ransom demands yet again!

So we made it to the meeting point an hour late, Kyran went into a house to do the deal and I half hoped it was a police sting and the gun thing would go the way of money that it cost to buy them - away!

Don't get me wrong I have a lot of problems with guns. But the biggest one is walking around with something that looks like a real gun which is going to get you shot on the spot.
If you have traveled to any major tourist destinations i.e. Madrid, Paris, London you will have noticed that the police don't walk around with a pen and paper. They have big-ass automatic weapons to shoot first and ask questions later.

So my question is, is this game worth your life!?

Ok I will get off my soap box...

With the deal done and the non-lethal weapon in our possession it was finally time to start the actual adventure that we wanted to check out so that you guys can see another great part of England.

The plan was to go see Warwick Castle. Kyran had been asking to go to Warwick castle a lot as we both drive past signs for it quite frequently for work and, well, you start to wonder what is this castle all about?

So we bought our tickets online and Kyran added on something that was called the "Dungeon tour". To me the 'Dungeon tour" sounded like it might be a bit of a sensation for the youth, like a Horror house of sorts... It was, but it wasn't... We will get in to that shortly.

But first let me take a Selfie!

Above: Kyran and I in front of Warwick Castle.

As we arrived to the castle it was quickly apparent that we had not budgeted enough time to see everything. We arrived about 1:30pm and the park closed at 5pm so we had 4 hours to see everything.

The parking for the castle was 20 minute walk away from the castle itself (they did have disabled parking right up close) so us able-bodied people had a 20 minute walk past the Knights Village which was a really cool area of bungalows and tents in the medieval style that you can stay the night in. The thought had passed our mind to see if they had one free and stay the night but alas we had other things to do the next day and no spare undies either.

The first thing that we came upon once we entered the castle grounds was a maze that was set up for the children. The maze was 'branded' as a "Horrible Histories" adventure! As you enter the maze there is a 'Passport' that the kids have to run around and punch the stamps of the different time periods that the Horrible Histories Rat had messed up.

Well you know me... I had to have a passport too and I had to get in line and battle all the children to get all the stamps on my passport.
I even had to corner a kid and make him tell me where he found the last stamp that I was missing.

Here are some Photos from within the maze that was riddled with FUN FACTS!

In the end I got them all! I hope you are all as happy as I was... Now I guess I can throw it in the bin. All in all it was a good little activity for the children though.

With my passport full of stamps it was time to go and see the actual castle that we came to see.

As the path winds around there was a grassy area were kids were learning to sword fight (medieval style)(See photo below). I think this is where Kyran's inner-child came out because he made me sit on the grass and watch the kids learn. I told him to get a stick and go join in but I think the kids would have kicked his butt!

Moving on!

Lets actually get into this Castle!
As we finally entered the castle gates we realised that it was just in time for the 'War of the Roses' dramatisation.

Here is a little copy and paste from Wikipedia:

The Wars of the Roses were a series of English civil wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the House of Lancaster, associated with a red rose, and the House of York, whose symbol was a white rose. Eventually, the wars eliminated the male lines of both families. The conflict lasted through many sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1487, but there was related fighting before and after this period between the parties. The power struggle ignited around social and financial troubles following the Hundred Years' War, unfolding the structural problems of feudalism, combined with the mental infirmity and weak rule of king Henry VI which revived interest in Richard of York's claim to the throne.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roses)

We ran to see the show but when we got there is was packed full so I tried to get some photos to at least show you what is was like. This is the length that I go to to get photos for this blog! Standing on bins!

So as you can see it seems to be a bit of horse riding and men fighting and dying over women. It must be good because as I mentioned it was packed so we couldn't see much. We didn't really have the time to sit down and watch anyway as we still hadn't entered the Castle and it was coming on to 3pm already.

So we headed back towards the castle area, and as we did we passed this giant trebuchet which is fired twice a day.

This example of a trebuchet is a "counterweight" trebuchet, with treadmills designed to slowly lift the massive counterweight which is usually a big bucket full of stones or sand or lead. The longer side of the arm has a sling (a rope with a big pouch/pocket at the end to hold a large rock or other projectiles..) which when the siege weapon is fired, flings up into the air and releases the rock - sailing through the air to hit enemy fortifications.

The trebuchet at Warwick Castle is supposedly the world's largest functioning trebuchet, with a 22 tonne counterweight it can fire a 36kg projectile about 300m. Pretty exciting!

As we had arrived late we missed the first firing, and didn't have time to wait around and see the afternoon firing otherwise were were never going to get inside this castle.

The next obstacle between us and the castle was and archery range that Kyran insisted on firing a few arrows on. So after firing a few arrows and actually surprisingly hitting the bulls eye a few times it was finally time to go and see the castle.

The Castle!

Finally we got to go inside the castle even if it was just for 20 minutes before we had to rush off to the Dungeon tour. Here are some quick photos that we took before we had to run off as the tour was booked for 3:30 pm. We did get back to the castle afterwards but let's try to keep this blog in the proper chronological order.

There are a few wax-people throughout the castle posed as if they were living in and interacting within the castle. They were dressed and posed in such a way that I thought was fantastic. There were even some servant/hand maids doing their chores (you will see them later).

The other thing that really caught my eye before we had to run off to the dungion was this chandelier.

In all the great castles and manor houses that I have visited up until now I have never noticed a ceramic chandelier, let alone with such fantastic detail and colour. Amazing!

Ok Dungeon time!

The Dungeon Tour

So we had to line up 15 minutes before our time slot but really we were only waiting 5 minutes before we were pushed along to the beginning of the tour.

Before you start your tour you are met with a creepy court jester that plays a bit of a scary role by suggesting your demise and making sudden loud noises to spook you. I guess here is where I should reiterate that this whole thing had a haunted house vibe to it.

I don't like scary things and I was wondering what Kyran was thinking when he got us the tickets to go and do the tour. But in the end I found it ok as it was educational and gives a little insight into the Medieval times when the Black Plague was sweeping across Europe and when people were tried and tortured for Witchcraft.

I mean the whole thing was probably very spot on. I imagine that medieval times were a scary time to be alive, a live, non-stop haunted house for them!

There were no photos allowed throughout the tour but I will tell you how it went.

The First Room

The first room was a chapel with a monk looking guy praying and giving you warnings.
Then you walk past a room that is piled high with bodies (victims of the plague)

The Second Room

The second room was a body on a table and a lady who says she is the cook is stepping in for the doctor... as the doctor is the dead guy on the table! So the next best person to do the job is the cook as she is used to pulling things apart (blood and guts). So she talks about some of the cures that were tried for the plague and the theories on how it was spread.

The Third Room

Then you go to another room that has a judge in it, and they try one of the ladies in the audience for witchery, of which she is found guilty. Then they get one of the kids as well just to lighten the mood and try him for peeing in the street.

The Fourth Room

The fourth room was a public execution and when they go to chop the head off the guest, the seat drops under you.

We then go into a mirror maze, which some cheeky kids defeated very quickly and lead all the dumb adults out of it.

The Final Room

The fifth and final room is the story of a woman who was tried for witchery and fled into a castle turret and when they broke down the doors there was only a black dog that escaped.
This was the more superstitious room - they insinuate the room is haunted and the doors rattle and the lights strobe then something strange moves under your bum on the seat! On top of that between the light strobing there is a raggedy old witch lady and then the lights come on and she is gone.

As you exit the Dungeon experience there is a black dog figure and then you are out into the sunlight.

As I mentioned I think that it was OK as it was educational and sometimes it is good to understand just how scary history was.

The Goal

After we exited the dungeon there was an actual dungeon to the right (it was the Gaol) so we went down there and even this was a big eye opener. You go down some narrow stone stairs and as you went down you could feel the temperature dropping and the moisture level rising. It was cold and damp.

There was this sign on the wall

Above- This is the 'Pit' that the sign below refers to.

Why are people like this? The Medieval time were definitely evil times!!

Well lets move on now to some more cheery stuff.

We had seen what there was to be seen everywhere else, leaving us about 1 hour until the castle closing time so we rushed back to the castle to finish seeing the interior and its displays. Here are some of the photos that we took.

Above: This is the local church from the view on the top of the Castle.
Below: A view from the top of one of the castle walls down onto the river Avon

Well that is all folks. Here is a photo that aptly describes how every blogging adventure finishes!

***Tired but happy***

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“There once was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time was called the Dark Ages.”
― Richard Lederer, Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language

Hello and welcome to our latest adventure where we headed into London with the goal of being a little more informed on how to work our big fan-dangled camera. I mean it does take awesome pictures, but up until now we knew very little about how to use all of its options .

I have been inspired to pursue the photography avenue a little further after I upgraded our camera bag and bought a tripod for my birthday. So I found this 2.5 hour course online on a website called Obby.

Obby is fantastic if you live in London, but means nothing to you if you don't.
Obby is a platform for any courses that are running the the London area - be it photography, cooking, drawing, dancing, painting, soap making etc.. there are a range of courses that are available with all sorts of prices and schedules, and you can just go on the website and search whatever it is that you want to learn! (obby.co.uk)

So we picked a cheap short little course that looked like it would afford us the time to to learn but then to go out and explore more of London and taste some awesome vegan food.

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The day started out as with a trip to Gatwick airport to drop off my cousin who had been staying with us for the past week.
Once that was done it was a trip home and park the car before heading into London.

We caught the train in, and Kyran had a little pre-adventure meditation session.
Seriously this man can sleep anywhere! I'm not sure whether to be angry or jealous...

Once we got into London Waterloo station we had to take the tube to Liverpool Street station and then walk to get to the Old Spitalfields Market.

If you are a frequent reader of our blog you will find that this sounds familiar as we had stumbled upon ithis market previously and in fact you might remember we found some weird Ethiopian vegan food with florescent peas!(see below)(Previous Blog)

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It was a weird "meet in the corner of the market by the coffee shop with your camera gear and I will know it is you" kind of meeting. But we found each other quite quickly and to our surprise we (Kyran and I) were the only people booked for that session. This worked out well because we had a lot of questions.

It was a cooler rainy day so we took advantage of the diffused lighting conditions and got straight into it!

I thought that I would give you a quick run down on photography that we learned:

There are three major settings that we can alter while we are using our camera and a million things that we can do when we get the photos on the computer.
But lets look at the camera:

1. ISO (International Standards Organisation,measurement of light sensitivity of film/camera),
2.Shutter speed, and
3. Aperture

Put really simply altering each of these three things with either make an image lighter or darker. There are various side effects for changes to each (positive and sometimes negative) so careful consideration needs to be used for adjusting the settings to get the desire shot.

So here are the exercises that we did:

Altering ISO:

Altering Shutter speed:

Aperture:

Then once you get the hang of the lighter darker principles then you can start to use the three features/ variables and start to look at their other properties.

Saturation:

Focus and blurring the background:

Using a long focal length and a wide aperture gives a smaller depth of field so when focused on something in the mid-ground, the background will be blurred or out of focus. The other way to get a tight depth of field is just a byproduct of using extreme telefocal lenses, like our Tamron macro lens with ~300mm focal length.

White Balance and temperature of light:

Using the camera's built in white-balance settings we can make it apply additional colours to try to balance out the natural/external light sources and make white appear more 'white'. There are some neat side effects of purposefully choosing the wrong white-balance settings, like the very 'blue' tone on the middle image. The image on the right has a nice warm feeling to it, also due to added colour from white-balance.

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That was a really really quick run-down on what we learned and some of the skills that we now had to practice!
This worked out well though, as the next day we were off for some more adventures to visit Kyran's brother, sister in-law and little Nephew Hector.

The plan was to go for a bike ride to a local food festival and then just take in the surroundings.

So here are some photos that we took along the way (they were taken on my/ Kyrans' phone so nothing to do with the lessons from the day before yet, other than his amazing skills at framing a shot of course!)

Here are some of the photos that we took practising our newly learned skills

Finally here are some photos that I combined our newly learned photography skills and my still developing photo editing skills and we ended up with these:

All in all it was a good day it was nice to go for a bike ride and fin to explore a farm with Hector (even if he was trying to catch dinosaurs the whore time in a game on my phone).

As a extra little something to make up for the lack of food pics from a food festival here is a photo of my breakfast... Ben & Jerry's vegan icecream on waffles with maple syrup!

While we are talking about extras, for those of you who are not aware yet I do also have an Instagram and Facebook page dedicated to the crafty adventures that I embark upon between all the travel and work (also a lot of hash tags).

#cedesstuff #cedesphotography #cedesnails or
www.facebook.com/Home-made-hand-crafted-wool-works
https://www.facebook.com/cedesstuff/?ref=bookmarks

So these are some of my projects!

Sewing:

Nails:

Sculpture:

Graphic Design:

These are two of my biggest fans, who liked my design so much they got matching bags.

Well that brings us to the end of another blog, I hope that you enjoyed reading this one! I know that it was a little more creative then adventurous but I promise the next blog is going to be an adventure are we explore another big British Castle!

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Until next time, why don't you try and do something creative and tell us about it!?

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